Jennifer Janiskee with her eighth-grade students at Moore Middle School.
courtesy photos

Jennifer Janiskee, an eighth-grade social studies teacher and debate team coach at Moore Middle School feels that if you are a teacher you’re a learner too.

Janiskee has three daughters with husband Brian: Katie, Aly and Mary. She received a bachelor of the arts from Michigan State University and a teaching credential from California State University, San Bernardino.

“She is an outstanding and compassionate history teacher who is also our department chair,” he said. “She is very progressive with all of the latest Common Core strategies and is a leader of the department by sharing and guiding the entire group. She has an amazing attitude and is a professional. She loves kids and her job and the kids love her.”

Janiskee has taught at Moore for four years, currently teaching five periods of classes, totaling 167 students.

“I love having so many students because that’s all the more personalities I get to interact with every day,” she said.

She has a degree in political science and pre-law and originally wanted to go into the law field.

“After volunteering in my daughters’ classrooms in elementary school and being active in the PTA, I started to realize that I really loved the classroom environment. I loved watching the teacher interact with the students and it was really wonderful to watch. So I decided trying out to be a substitute in the district and I just fell in love with the job and never looked back,” said Janiskee.

She says the basis of good education is teamwork.

“I don’t think there are as many struggles when you’re able to connect and really develop those relationships. It’s a process because we completely rely on each other. I can’t do what I need to do without them and they can’t learn without me. If we don’t work together, we aren’t going to get anything accomplished,” said Janiskee.

The parents have to be part of that team.

“There are no words for how important parent involvement is. I always say it’s a team effort and if I have parent support and parents who are interested in not only what their children are doing all day in school but interested in helping them be successful every day, then they have just made my job a lot easier.”

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Cortz mentioned when she went to Washington, D.C., with her eighth-grade class this year as an example of Janiskee’s commitment.

“It was really cool to see her soaking in all of the learning while teaching the kids and bringing back information and possibly growing and learning as a professional,” Cortz said.

He also explained that she has formed a speech and debate team, which is the first ever at their school and the only speech and debate team in Redlands at the middle school level.

“She grew it out of nothing and she now has approximately 40 students. They won fourth place in their very first competition. She is a teacher that volunteers and does a lot on her own, because of her passion for kids and learning.”

Janiskee says she’s on board for whatever prepares her students for the future.

“When my students leave me at the end of the year they go off to high school, I tell them, you have got to set goals for yourself and map a course to achieve it. See yourself five years down the road having accomplished it and that makes the creation of the map easier. I also tell them when you leave middle school and into high school and when you go to college, you’re going to need to take full advantage of any help and support you can get whether academic or emotional,” she said.

While teaching her students Janiskee tries to find a middle ground that includes a teacher centered approach and a student centered approach.

“I think it’s really important for students to sometimes to have a little control in how they’re going to learn something. But at the same time I have to always make sure I am checking for understanding and making sure I am reaching all of the different kinds of learners that I have because with all of these students, I have a variety of learning styles and I really think it is important to hit them all,” she said. “You can’t leave anybody behind; you have to feel as a student that your teacher cares whether or not you learned something.”

Part of being a successful student is taking part in extracurricular activities, said Janiskee.

“I’m a big proponent of them. For me, the kids who are involved in clubs and sports are really more invested in their school. That involvement creates a positive environment and it’s a voluntary connection to the school. I think the more they are involved, the more successful they will be and I really encourage that.”

In Janiskee’s eyes, Moore stands out because of its special school climate.

“Our students’ parents and the entire staff create a really productive, positive and rewarding atmosphere. When you walk onto the campus you feel a sense of community,” she said.

Cortz said Janiskee is especially smart and that he could just go on and on about her.

“She even played in the student-staff football game! There’s probably so much more that she does behind the scenes, not for recognition or the glory that I don’t know about and that is just who she is,” Cortz said.

Janiskee said she feels honored and humbled to have been nominated as a Daily Facts spotlighted teacher.

“This means so much to me. It’s also interesting to me because I love my job so much and you always hope as a teacher that you’re doing a good job. So it’s really, really nice to have that affirmation.”